Catching the bouquet
by Funeral.Bell
Summary: Sapphire surprisingly didn't lose her girlish touch, so he decided a wedding dress would be the perfect present. He could make it from scratch, use his petite frame for the measurements…and hopefully mend his relationship with Steven. —Tensaishipping


**A/N**: Ohmygod. I actually reached having 100 people put me on their favorite author thinger. For that I give you this as thanks! I was planning to do it according to the poll, but I'm too excited that I'm not even going to bother! But thank you for those who voted!  
><strong>Warning<strong>: Cross-dressing, I suppose. Kissing and dem touches. (And if it bothers anyone, I'll change the rating. The clothes do stay on, so…)  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Sapphire surprisingly didn't lose her girlish touch, so he decided a wedding dress would be the perfect present. He could make it from scratch, use his petite frame for the measurements…and hopefully mend his relationship with Steven. —Tensaishipping  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I will never own Pokémon; the company would be so horrified to find out what was lurking inside my head. And I'm sure they'll be just as disturbed to find out what's lurking in all of _your_ minds.

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><p>→cαтcнιиg тнε вøuquєt←<p>

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><p>"<em>This<em> is how a wedding is _meant_ to be," Norman said moodily under his breath, his scorning ebony eyes observing the customary exchange of vows between Winona and Wallace. Although he hardly spared his son a glance throughout the event, his statement was directed at Ruby specifically.

"Bite me," Ruby retorted offhandedly, disregarding his rude tone that would surely get him grounded by the time he returned home.

Caroline pressed a finger on her lips, her threatening scowl hushing her family into a stressed silence, the dark glimmer in her caramel-brown eyes _daring _her family to utter a single word. Her authority figure instantly redirected their momentary quarrel on the wedding, occasionally eye rolling when Caroline swooned emotionally, whispering "This is so beautiful!" like a mantra.

A wedding in June was, by far, the most anticipated month for marriage: those invited eagerly traveled from their hometown to watch the sweetest couple in Hoenn to be sworn together by holy matrimony, the location of their destination wedding held on the scenic view of Dewford's beach. The weather conditions nearly perfect for the two lovebirds gazing intently at one another, their warm smile contagious enough to spread through the darkest grimaces—namely Norman—but overwhelming when the few in the crowd quietly blew their nose on a napkin, faces stained with a heartwarming tears spilling over the rims of their eyes. Ruby would have thoroughly enjoyed the wedding's prominent features, such as the Winona's bridesmaid's dresses or the woman of honor herself.

Although he wore a sour scowl after having to hear his father's unnecessary remark, and despite the heavy atmosphere looming over their shoulders, Ruby could breathe a sigh of relief as he came in contact with Wallace. The current champion of Hoenn was normally composed and flamboyant in his stride, reading through his part of the vows was nothing more but an amusing sight: his cheeks faintly delved into a shade of red, evidently nervous reciting all the emotions he wanted to evoke from a piece of paper to his long-time love. Without his casual attire and white beret, Wallace hardly seemed like himself in front of an audience, as if he was almost uncomfortably stiff in the black tuxedo compared to Winona's suitable position as the bride in white. At first he assumed he was the only person who had noticed Wallace's uneasiness on the elevated stand, his scarlet eyes settled on the bridesmaids, Flannery and Roxanne, struggling against the urge to burst into a fit of giggles, they closed their eyes on the scene to regain—if not failing considerably—their composure.

Then Ruby's attention was redirected on Steven.

He instantly retracted his interest to his mother's red heels.

It was common knowledge for Wallace to choose Steven Stone as his best man, what Ruby never expected—

Caroline giggled sweetly, dipping her head to whisper into her son's ear. She held her palm up to cover her hushed commentary, "Doesn't Steven look dashing?"

—she summed it up pretty well, making his face flush like the deep red shade of a tamato berry. Sitting behind him was Sapphire and her father, Professor Birch, but the brunette girl merely giggled overhearing Ruby's mother. Mr. Stone, sitting beside Sapphire, chuckled softly as well.

Ruby inwardly groaned: his mother was such an embarrassment sometimes. But who is he to deny the truth? The marriage was the focus of Wallace and Winona's loving commitment, yet his attention ebbed away after the first few minutes on Steven. The blunette was beaming, his arms crossed behind his back, his usual attire replaced with a suit completely in white: he had unfastened the buttons on his white single-breasted notched lapel jacket to expose the white waistcoat underneath and the plain white dress shirt, his red cravat seen on his black suit replaced with a white tie, his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his white pants, the sand whishing past his visible white dress shoes.

He quickly wondered if the rose—the only trace of actual color beside white—resting in Steven's breast pocket would be given to anyone in particular, the mere notion of such a possibility made Ruby shake his head violently, blushing redder than the coat on Sapphire's blaziken. Too concentrated on his imagination running amok, he missed the "You may now kiss the bride," causing his heart to nearly burst out of his chest from the abrupt shock of the excited attendants roaring cheers and rowdy applause. Sapphire grabbed Ruby by the wrist, dragging the child attempting to reclaim his composure after nearly falling of the chair, and squeezed him through the chairs so the pair could reach the huddled woman restlessly pushing against one another.

The rudeness of the crowd had no bounds as he was frequently elbowed by a woman trying to occupy the space she needed, he shook his head in disbelief and tugged his beanie forward from slipping off his head. Ruby finally acknowledged the opportunity to stare at Sapphire's vintage rose printed dress, the blue bandana covering her head switched with a lacy headband, its ribbon falling on her exposed collarbone, his eyes narrowed on her pink open-toed, ankle wrap espadrilles – no wonder she was suddenly became taller than him by three inches.

"Huh. So you still have some feminine traits in you, Saph. Who knew," he said pointedly.

She completely ignored his input. "Weddings are so beautiful," she swooned. Her blue irises became fixated on Winona's wedding gown, in a deflated tone she added, "I wish I could wear a dress like that…"

It had been a full year after Archie and Maxie's dangerous ambitions came close to causing an end to the world, the pair equally agreed to celebrate their birthdays in July: Hoenn had more festive opportunities in July regardless, so what greater chance to make Sapphire happy for her twelfth birthday than her own wedding dress? The wedding proved Sapphire hasn't entirely lost her girlish affections for dresses after she vowed to become stronger, it was rather a rush of relief considering he had no present planned for the upcoming month, enduring so many nights of headaches to construct a present she would surely be overjoyed with. Engrossed in his musings to realize Winona tossed the bouquet over her shoulder, he was suddenly pushed forward roughly by the crowding women…

The rear tip of the bouquet pushed his beanie in front of his eyes; his arms opened when he felt something fall into his hold.

Silence.

Ruby pressed the object close to his face in an attempt to have his hands reach the beanie to push it forward, away from his concealed eyes. He blinked, looked around, curious of the crowd's intense gaping directly solely on his presence, then he slowly noticed the large bouquet in his hands. The women had a grimace etched on their face, greatly disappointed they failed to catch the wife of Hoenn's champion's bouquet, clearly believing luck would be on their side to be blessed for marriage next. Ruby nervously cleared his throat, _This isn't awkward at all._

Sapphire was the first to seize the initiative to approach Ruby, she laughed wholeheartedly, patting him reassuringly on the back.

Ruby pushed the bouquet in Sapphire's arms, lightly blushing being the center of attention for the wrong reasons.

The crowd cheered, delicately spreading their coos for the "young couple" destined to be married: it was a lavish title for the "cute little girl" to be married to "our savior of Hoenn." The scarlet-eyed child possessed little strength to fight of the crowd's endearing comments, nor could he fend off their enthusiasm for him and Sapphire to huddle closely together and their 'Smile for the camera!' demands.

Despite the flashing photography abusing their eyes to the extent they could see floating orbs persisting their sight, Ruby knew his disoriented vision did distinguish Steven's fleeting smile lingering in the background, the rose in his breast pocket no longer present. The blunette turned his back sharply, tossed the crumbled rose hidden in his hand onto the sand, then followed the crowd tailing behind the newlywed couple.

* * *

><p>Leave it to Sapphire to be first person to detect Ruby's miserable attitude, she urged him to dance with her to discuss his problem but he remained quiet despite how earnestly concerned she felt for her best friend. He gathered the courage several times to tug on Steven's sleeve to capture his attention or stopping directly in his tracks to talk…<p>

Nothing worked.

Steven blatantly ignored Ruby.

And after the fifth rejection, Ruby viciously kicked the former champion on the knee; he avoided the attention gathering around the man doubling over in pain by having Ruru teleport him back home.

* * *

><p>The marriage held in Dewford was during the first week of June, it was the final week of June before he decided to have Ruru teleport him to Steven's home in Mossdeep.<p>

The excitement gradually died down for both Wallace's and Winona's wedding as well as the 'potential chance' he might be wedded to Sapphire in the near future. The public was completely unaware the two children had talked about the emotional connections they have for each other: Sapphire felt love, Ruby felt friendship. Did she harbor feelings for him since the following year? He wasn't entirely sure, but she became his dearest friend after they used the passing months to rekindle their friendship throughout the turbulent past year, they were finally able to distinguish the flurry of emotions peaked after the salamence incident – they were never caught up in the past events, they spent enough time with each other to talk about present matters.

By the middle of June, Sapphire had managed to learn everything that happened during the party, albeit unwillingly from Ruby's part. It was her encouragements that lead him to Mossdeep, without her he may have continued to sulk in his room with his unwavering will to step outside again, but he had kept himself busy through the hours of the day to create Sapphire's dress. What could have occupied his time for months had only taken three weeks without stopping, several days during the weekdays and weekends he would be knocking on the former champion's door to sleep the night—much to Norman's dismay—from cuddling at night to returning the man's loving, tender kisses.

Ruby missed it all.

Sapphire could see the life of her best friend rapidly degrade every passing day, she grew weary hearing the recounts of Caroline imploring Ruby for a family picnic, she offered phoning Steven for a visit but received a cold glare whenever she mentioned his name: she was completely unaware the problem revolved on his relationship with Steven, she thought it was just a phase of growing up for male children. The brunette would have laughed spotting Norman hesitating to knock on his son's door, in the end he would curl his hand into a fist and walk away.

She would have laughed if her best friend didn't shut the world away.

She stormed into his room—he quickly stuffed the dress he was working on under his blanket—her delicate face streaked with tears leaking from her eyes, a clear layer of mucus seeping from her nose—almost like Zuzu when it was a mudkip—and she hugged Ruby, her fist weakly beating his chest. Her words incoherent by her violent sobs but she became calm after Ruby wrapped his arms around her, apologized, and thanked her – he felt so unlike him at that moment, and honestly he could have cared less. Relieved, Sapphire wiped her flowing tears and snot with her arm, laughing gently and went on about 'how gross she might look.'

Ruby shook his head, laughed with her, and apologized again. Because of her efforts, he wanted her wedding dress to be perfect, his frame to be used as a model to adjust the waistline of the dress and such. After securing the spare key in the mailbox, as well as having Ruru returned to her pokéball, he nervously unlocked the front door, peeking inside the darkness of the blunette's home. Locking the door behind him and flipping the lights on to examine the condition of the room, his scarlet eyes followed the thin layer of dust on Steven's research material and the glass casing of the rare stones he collected throughout the years. Rustboro is Steven's home too, he reasoned, Mr. Stone has a housing floor in his corporation whenever his son chose to assist his father for several days.

The dust collected within the two-story house—before their unknown separation Steven explained of a possible relocation to Sinnoh for the villa he was choosing to purchase, _Of course a corporate son_ _wouldn't stay long in a commoner's home_, he mused sourly—was the tell-tale sign the homeowner hasn't stepped foot in his own home for weeks. Upstairs was in no better condition.

Such a warm July but such a cold house…

He tossed his backpack in the corner of the room, trekked downstairs and dutifully began cleaning every inch of the house, sneezing frequently when the dust fluttered into the air and landed on his nose. Cleaning the living room alone was a tiring chore, from the kitchen, to the bathroom, and finally by the second floor his body ached painfully, his arms cramped from reaching the shelves he could barely touch with his fingertips, even with a chair he continued to have trouble reaching the top of the pantry. _And this guy wants a villa?_

Ruby slipped on a nightshirt—he could never sleep in Steven's house without his beanie—after a soothingly warm shower, his exhausted body collapsed on the plushed bed, eyes staring plainly at the ceiling. He stayed in that position until the day was welcomed by the darkness stretching across the horizon, the chattering ambience reduced to nothing but the still reflection of the city lights on windows, from an angle Ruby could see the shinning bright stars glimmering in the night. His eyelids grew heavy when he spared the electronic clock by the bedside a glance: thirty minutes to midnight. The coordinator sighed depressingly before curling up on the bed, the open windows inviting the cool gust of wind sending shivers down his spine—

—Steven was not returning, it seemed. Closing his eyes, he threw the blanket over his body.

* * *

><p>Steven Stone was deathly afraid disturbing Metagross at one in the morning, its eyes just told him the cogs in the pokémon's head was turning and was slowly, <em>thoroughly<em>, planning the blunette's demise. Skarmory was no better with its sharp beak of death, but he preferred calling his steel-plated partner from its slumber to fly him from Rustboro to Mossdeep. He could have waited until the morning, the notion of spending another hour with his father was enough for him to consider falling off a cliff: day in, day out, his father worked him like a slave and by the night he would become terrifyingly affectionate with his son. ("Upset, my boy? Come here, you need an embrace!" he would say, opening his arms wide for Steven to accept the invitation.)

He needed to be in his own bed, in his own household, in a room _without_ his father. Skarmory cawed angrily being called in the dead of night, pecking its trainer's hand when he tried to soothe the temperamental steel pokémon.

"Will you accept my apology if I treated you to a platter of your favorite food…?" he suggested airily, grinning when Skarmory cawed pleasingly.

He left the city of Rustboro, three hours later he was too weary to cast suspicion on the people of Mossdeep that could have stolen his spare key, instead he fished his personal key out of his pocket. He raised a brow when he turned the light on, having no desire to approach his home since Wallace's wedding he would have assumed throughout the time length his house would have gathered a speck of dust on the shelves where the books rested.

Everything was too clean.

He was too tired to give a damn though.

Steven flung his jacket on the sofa, he unfastened the red cravat around his neck and tossed it aimlessly over his shoulder, his fingers ran over the first three buttons of his collared shirt before prying the buttons from their sockets. His leather recliner chair was a tempting alternative than ascending the flight of stairs to reach his soft,_ soothing_ bed…

He headed upstairs.

In his listless tread he disregarded the lump resting on his bed, he failed to notice the backpack lodged in the corner, his major concern was shutting the windows considering his room felt like he walked into the port city of Slateport during the winter – the question didn't even spawn _why _his windows would be opened. He dragged his feet to the bathroom—he kicked off his shoes before entering the second floor bathroom—splashed cold water on his face to regain his senses, if even in the slightest.

His brain was still too fuddled to recognize the signs his bathroom was recently use. Steven rested his head on the wall, nodding off from the lack of sleep he has been losing in the past few days, he was still suffering in the past week from the amount of guilt welling up inside. He would be fueled by the obligation to have Skarmory fly him over Petalburg, to at least be assured Ruby's condition was better than his, but recently he was avoiding the small city completely after spotting the brunette girl Ruby adored like a precious gem entering the house.

_It's for the best…_

Entering his room was still like entering a freezer despite the time consumed showering. Steven hastily slipped on his silk pajamas, tugged the blankets forward to welcome a night for himself and sle—

and Ruby.

_What in the world._

"You…make a lot of…noise…" Ruby drawled sleepily, he rubbed his eyes with the sleeves of his nightshirt. He shivered violently, accustomed to the heat under the blanket rather than the cold exposure having the blanket ripped away from his possession.

Words could not describe his direct surprise: to think the day he returned home he would find his former lover in his bed after three weeks without a trace of Ruby searching Rustboro, Steven would have assumed Ruby finally came to his senses ever since the wedding. At four in the morning in a chillingly cold room, no possible ray of sunshine brightening the dark city until the next few hours, Steven absolutely could not bring himself to demand the coordinator to leave—by morning was an entirely different story.

Heaving a mauling sigh from the mingled amount of disappointment and exasperation, he drew the blanket forward to cover Ruby, turning on the ball of his foot to head downstairs to earn a restful sleep until he gets an earful of the child's ranting in the early morning.

Suddenly wide awake, Ruby's hand jerked forward, his fingers clenching tightly on the fabric of the former champion's nightwear in order to halt his movements. He was upset in the past weeks, he was absolutely devastated being the center of Steven's rejection during the festive party held after the wedding, but he was definitely not leaving without a proper answer to justify the cause of his indifference.

"What is with you?" Ruby asked softly, his tone like a pleading whimper.

A pregnant pause registered between the pair, neither one seizing the initiative to speak. In a fit of anger from the lack of response, Ruby clasped the shirt with both hands, aggressively pulling Steven backward with an ungraceful plop. Blue eyes blinked from the momentary and uncalled for shock, his heartbeat racing from the sudden impact – if he knew Ruby would have adamantly decided to stay in his house, he would have dealt with his chances prolonging his living time with his father.

Ruby's brows furrowed receiving the end of Steven's impassive behavior; the blunette turned his head the other direction, facing the wall, to avoid the glaring force fixated on him, sullenly wishing Ruby would grow weary enough to succumb to sleep.

Ruby's fingers latched onto the waistband of Steven's pajama pants, fully prepared to yank them down.

In a hasty, fluid motion, Steven sprang into a sitting position, his hands holding Ruby by the wrist, his chest heaving from the jolt of apprehension running through his body. "Do not," he warned breathlessly before continuing, "ever attempt that again."

Swallowing the hard lump in his throat after having his wrist slowly released, Ruby nodded helplessly, he stood up a little to crawl on Steven's lap, practically being straddled. Ruby nuzzled his head on the crook of Steven's neck, his depressive frown twitching upwards to feel the familiar warmth lingering on his wrist, _to be spoken_ _to_ after the insufferable weeks locked in his room.

"I thought…" he said shakily, he raised his hand to run his fingers through the soft, lightly dampened blue hair. "I thought…you cared, you said you lov-"

"You should be with Sapphire."

Ruby blinked, he pushed himself away to observe Steven's face. _He's not kidding?_

His hand returned to his side, self-consciously he tugged his beanie forward but offered the blunette a genuine quirk of the head: he was lost, mentioning Sapphire was completely out of the blue.

"What does Saph have anything to do with this?"

A selfish compulsion had Steven wrap his arms around Ruby's waist, pulling the coordinator closer. His blue eyes flickered around the room pensively, weighing every word carefully. "Being with Sapphire would be a better choice for you. If I am not mistaken, you two are the same age? A future with her is socially acceptable-"

Ruby groaned loudly, his hands crinkling in mock anger. "Are you an idiot or something? I've heard this garbage over and over! For the _last time_, Sapphire is my best friend! Yes, she liked me and everything, so what? She understands that I only care for her as a _friend,_ get that through your head, Steven! Ugh, seriously…I can't believe this was the whole reason."

Blue eyes observed Ruby grumbling under his breath inaudibly, weakly he added, "You might be unaware what you truly desire at this age, surely…" Steven trailed off, the grip around Ruby loosened.

Ruby scoffed, "How are you going to tell me I don't know what I want? Remember when everything was becoming chaotic because of Team Aqua and Magma? You died. If I didn't have Celebi, you would still be dead. I'm pretty sure I learned how much I needed you. Don't you think for a second this isn't what I want."

Steven gave in. He recognized his defeat, he would not consider further changing Ruby's mind otherwise: a cranky lover trying to mend their relationship in the dead of night deserved recognition for giving the best attempt. He avoided nearing Petalburg from the skies to brush aside the picture filling his head, the happiness with his lover to be severed completely from his memories and dreams; he was engrossed considering a future where a relationship would not be hidden from the public. A chance to freely exchange the needed kisses or the warming sensation holding hands in Hoenn's frostbiting winters, everything was kept in an enclosed spaced free from scrutiny.

Free from everything.

"You know," Ruby muttered timidly, his face reddening in the looming darkness. "Sapphire may be my friend, but I'm yours."

The hesitant approach to touch Ruby was like a resistance he planned to uphold, that same resistance shattered in an instant when he gazed in his lover's large scarlet eyes: earnest but filled with anxiety, the deep red pigment reminded him of the warming crimson flare of fire stones he found lodged deep within the layers of the earth's jagged structured caves. The childishly small hands rested on his shoulders, trembling fervently from the evident edgy tension filling the air – it was all too cute for Steven not to smile. He pressed the light switch on resting beside the clock, he chuckled heartily as Ruby begged him to keep the lights off to conceal his flushed face in the darkness.

His fingers brushed the beanie off Ruby's head, lightly smacking away the small fingers trying to keep it on, and delivered a quick peck on the coordinator's forehead. The blunette tossed the white headgear aimlessly aside, then his hands resided on his lover's inner thighs, his thumb running ticklish circles, his head dipping downward to press his lips on Ruby. At first the boy was unresponsive, his focus nervously following the lingering touches but trusting Steven enough to fend off the nerve-racking anticipation, he breathed evenly to close his eyes, opening his mouth slightly to welcome Steven's tongue in his mouth.

The sensation was frantic, needy, the three week separation tormenting their emotions and bodies. They separated from each other to catch a momentary relief of air, the lusty expression etched on Ruby's face had Steven swoop down to kiss him a little for harsher than before – not that Ruby particularly minded, a passionate Steven was the best type for him. A small amount of saliva dribbled off the side of Ruby's mouth, he was too concentrated to pay any regard, instead enjoying having their tongues curling and touching one another.

Ruby gingerly leaned forward, arms returning to his side than draped around Steven's neck, daring one last attempt to run his hand on the hardening bulge between Steven's legs, his efforts earned him an enticing guttural groan. The ebony haired coordinator disregarded undergarments for the night, which aroused the blunette as he separated from Ruby, unconsciously licking his lips as his hands snaked down Ruby's spine, giving the rear cheeks an affectionate, firm squeeze. A surprised squeak escaped past the boy's lip, his body quavering from the sensation making his stomach feel like a thousand butterfree was fluttering inside. Ruby rested his head on his lover's shoulders, smirking weakly to nibble on the shell of Steven's ear.

The exposed neck close to Steven's chin was too alluring to ignore, the smooth milk-white skin untainted, unmarked – he wanted the lovable scarlet-eyed coordinator all to himself. His initial desire to expel the urge to bite down on the perfect skin was cut short, his erection pulsating painfully being teased by Ruby's raggedly breathing warming his neck, yet his lover excitedly rubbed against his covered crotch. The blunette was reaching him limit, he could only tolerate the extent of being teased before he would find himself pinning Ruby on the bed, his state of mind completely lost. Ruby had only a nightshirt on, no pants or undergarments.

He realized the lack of undergarments when he was squeezing his lover's rear, not that he minded per se.

Steven already had the satisfaction ironing the wrinkle in their relationship, he was entirely against jumping into anything that he could regret or terrify Ruby. The blunette slipped his hands under the boy's arms; he scooted over and pressed Ruby down beside him and cleared his throat to answer Ruby's honest curiosity for stopping.

"You made me incredibly happy already," he confessed softly. It took every cell in his body not to scamper inside the bathroom, already pained down there as it is.

"Don't you want to finish…?"

_You have not even the faintest idea how much I would love to continue_, he thought distractingly. "Another time, perhaps. Get some rest," he said, pulling the blanket over their bodies. At least the room has warmed up considerably.

By the next hour he could hear Ruby's gentle breathing; he absently swept the fringes aside to have a better view of his lover's sleeping face. Although asleep, Steven whispered low enough not to stir him awake.

"I love you, Ruby."

* * *

><p>"Steven, go away."<p>

Steven lowered his newspaper, regarding Ruby with a bewildered expression. "Pardon?"

"You heard me," Ruby huffed impatiently. "I need the house for a few hours."

"O-Okay?" he agreed warily. Tossing the newspaper in the waste bin, he stuffed Skarmory's pokéball in his pocket before bolting the door behind him.

* * *

><p><em> Arceus, finally I. Am. Done!<em>

Her body measurements was close to his, excluding the nearing womanly features he had to stretch, he twirled around the full-length mirror in the bedroom, marveling his greatest achievement yet ever since he had taken a break from pokémon contests. The most excruciating and tedious process was gathering all the necessary fabric and beg his father to lend him money for the more pricey yards of cloth: the satin for the wedding gloves and the silk for the sashes he could add to the dress. Underneath the dress was layered with thick amount of silk tulle to widen the lower level of the dress – he jokingly embarrassed Sapphire about her spandex shorts, claiming they made her butt look bigger, the result of his comment earned him a whack on the head.

The tulle extended an inch below the hem, giving the dress a presentable, decorative appeal from its originally plain appearance when he first began. He lined the silk cloth to make a sash around his waist tied in a large hanging bow he assumed Sapphire would surely love – her ruffled, floral dresses she wore when she was younger had ribbons tied together on her skirts and netted headbands. He ensured the tulle would reach the upper half of the dress so it can extend outwards from the hem to prevent the material from moving or the possibility of wrinkles; he tied the leftover silk stash around the chest area, the two materials sowed together.

Something clicked.

Scarlet eyes scanned the room, having seen nothing out of the ordinary he returned to his business.

Ruby was considering having the lower half of the dress completely covered with tulle, but he decided against his better judgment for the sake of not overdoing the design of her gift. He folded the fabric into two thin straight lines below the chest sash leading to the waist sash, he twirled around again in front of the mirror, grinning broadly everything was entirely complete. He fitted the satin gloves decorated with tiny beads on the back palm area, the gloves cut diagonally—like a triangle—on either side to expose his fingers, the pointed satin stitched to the elastic bands on his middle fingers to keep the material from folding backwards.

He lacked the white pantyhose and the white heels to exemplify the image of the 'bride in white,' he shrugged the idea away to reach for the veil he clipped on the side of his head. At first he shortened the length of the veil a little past his ear, the clipping attached with a mediums-sized felt material rose and a smaller rose, he then attached an extra veil he found while shopping that reached his knees along with the clipping. _Almost makes me wish I was born a girl_, he thought absently.

If he grew his hair long enough to cascade past his shoulders, he could have fooled anyone he was a girl, minus having the chest of a female and the like.

"It must be nice being proposed to," he said glumly, his shoulders sagging from his dispirited mood. "Saph is going to be so lucky…"

"I do commend you for your appearance, Ruby," said the voice behind him.

Ruby hid his face in his palms, his cheeks reddening upon the sudden realization: the clicking sound he heard earlier was the backdoor.

Steven was home, the tone of his voice laced with amusement: he had seen him in a dress, and he dreadfully thought that perhaps this will be held against him for an agonizingly long time. _Come on; start laughing already to get this over with…_

Ruby hesitantly turned to face Steven, red orbs widening witnessing twice in his lifetime Steven dressed entirely in white: the same suit from Wallace's wedding day. When he approached Ruby's side, Steven slid the titanium band off his index finger, tinkering its customizable function to size the band smaller. Ruby distractingly noticed Steven had another band of the same material around his ring finger—

"If I would have known about this, I would have purchased a ring studded with diamonds."

Ruby shook his head, his trembling mouth unable to form the words 'Th-That's okay! It really doesn't matter!'

Although he wanted to go on his knees, Ruby would become flustered—more than he already is—and fret restlessly. He would never get his point across in time, so he remained standing, bending his knees forward a little to reach and extend Ruby's hand outward.

"At the very least this would be official for us."

Ruby gulped.

"I love you. May I have your hand in marriage?"

Ruby nodded slowly, wordlessly accepting Steven slipping the band on his finger. They both shared the same band around their ring finger, he couldn't even begin-

Steven scooped Ruby off his feet, overwhelmed with happiness he began to laugh. Ruby coiled his arms around the blunette's neck, then after Steven's laughter died down and left the pair with pleased smiles, Ruby quickly kissed his lover's cheek.

"I love you, Steven."

* * *

><p>After sorting the day with gifts, cards, and calls, Ruby finally had the peace to invite Sapphire to Mossdeep to claim her present. It was an exhausting day filled with an endless amount of joy; he was showered in the morning with bedroom cuddles, a make-out session, and arguing with Steven busily inquiring on the phone for the most outrageously expensive diamond ring the region has to offer.<p>

Sapphire recalled her tropius, stuffed the ball inside the fanny pack draped around her waist, and with her free hand rang the doorbell.

She hugged her best friend opening the door, wished him a happy birthday—whispering in his ear she left his present in his bedroom at Petalburg—and received her own set of blessings as well. He instructed her to sit on the sofa—Steven left reading a novel cozily on his recliner chair—while he sprinted upstairs to retrieve her present.

"Happy birthday, Sapphire," Steven said, leaning forward to set the novel on the ottoman.

"Thanks." She closed her eyes, resting peacefully on the plushed leather sofa. "So you're the reason I couldn't be the one he liked."

Steven flinched, unsure whether to respond or remain silent.

The brunette trainer shrugged, reopened her eyes, her smile never faltering. "He's happy. That's what matters." Her pretty blue eyes narrowed into slits, her smile twitched downward into a menacing scowl, "I don't ever want to see him sad again or _else._"

Steven nodded, chuckling nervously.

Sapphire's expression changed instantly when her name was called by her best friend, her large cerulean orbs took less than a few seconds to well up with hot tears, her hands clapped over her mouth forming an 'o' in disbelief.

Ruby stepped away from the girl accepting the gift, shuffling quickly behind Steven to close his lover's eyes with his hands: once before he learned Sapphire had no problem tearing her clothes in front of anyone, he was accustomed to her behavior but he refused Steven from even catching the slightest glimpse of his best friend's body.

"It's so beautiful, Ruby! Thank you!" she giggled, twirling in her dress.

Ruby lifted his hands away from Steven's eyes, both of them agreeing she made a wonderful young bride.

Sapphire was absorbed twirling and playing with the skirt of her dress to notice Ruby seating himself on the armrest of the recliner chair, the lovers clasping their hands together.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I was suckered by Pixiv to make this one-shot. And no, of course I didn't draw this. It's so cute~ x3 (THIS IS SO CLICHÉD IT'S PAINFUL.) And _hello _2012 ;D

**_Picture influence_**: i43(dot)tinypic(dot)com/e5flnq(dot)jpg

I just realized this fic sounds like the same scenario from _Solace._ Holy crap, that wasn't intentional. ;_; (I guess my originality is dying;;)


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